Herd Mistress (In Deception's Shadow Book 2) (5 page)

Using exaggerated care, Shadowdancer released her hand
and braced both of his against the floor. He seemed docile enough now, but the
look in his eyes was anything but.

“That’s better.”

With an evil grin, she applied ointment to a cut just
above his elbow, and another dab on the curve of one shoulder; both wounds too
small for her Larnkin to be concerned with, apparently.

Once finished, she wiped her fingers on a corner of
blanket.

“Not so bad after all, was it?” She speared him with
another grin.

“Why you would think I’d want you to change from warm
bedfellow to prodding healer—with a tendency to tease a poor male until he’s
nearly beyond thought, and then threaten to geld him when he does react—is a
mystery to me.”
Shadowdancer
continued to glower at her, though his mind voice was colored with humor.

“I can hear you!” She struggled to her knees and
rested her hand on his shoulder for balance when she felt both dizzy and giddy.
“You’re healing?”

“Yes, my Larnkin grows stronger thanks to the magic
yours shared. I am in your debt.”

Sorsha whooped with joy and threw herself on him,
hugging him in a tight embrace. “I’m so glad you’re going to be all right.” She
pressed her cheek against his shoulder. It felt right holding him close, her
fingers finding their way into his thick hair. “As for saving my life, if we’re
counting, you saved me twice—from the river and Lord Trensler. I still owe you
another favor.”

Shadowdancer raised both eyebrows, his smile widening
into a truly mischievous look.

“Oh, don’t start thinking like that again. I really
don’t want to bust your balls. It would be such a waste of a fine specimen…so
stop staring.”

“I can’t help it. You’re female.”

“Ouch. That’s hardly romantic.” While her words held
the sharp bite of sarcasm, her body language was mellower. She sat back down in
his lap, shifting so she could sit crosswise and lean her cheek against his
chest. She wrapped one arm around his back. “Behave yourself,” she told him,
then repeated the words silently to herself as a reminder.

With her ear pressed close to him, she could hear the
steady thump of his heart. His scent was stronger now. Perhaps a hint of desire
made the aroma richer, darker somehow.

His hand cupped the back of her head and then his
fingers started combing through her mostly dry hair. She sensed his awe at his
body’s new tactile abilities.

“Thank you for sharing power. By dawn, I should be
able to resume my true form.”
He
almost sounded saddened. She must have misread his mental tone. Unless he
wanted more time to…

To what? That was the problem. As much as Shadowdancer
felt a part of her soul, she didn’t really know him, his motives, or his
loyalties. Not really. But now, the way he was holding her, it was so gentle.
She knew he’d never hurt her on purpose. And pressed so close it was impossible
to miss the evidence of his rising interest. He’d always been a flirt, even
when he walked on four legs. Yet now he was ready and apparently willing. Man
or Santhyrian, he was virile to the core.

Her stomach tightened with nerves. She didn’t know how
to take that information and relate with him.

Why was she suddenly so uncertain? It hadn’t been a
problem with past dalliances; the old Sorsha would have responded without a
thought. But she’d never sought a relationship before, just a momentary
distraction. Now she wanted more. That realization scared the Stonemantle
bravado right out of her. The past moon’s cycle with Shadowdancer had changed
her more than she’d thought.

“We both need a few candlemark’s worth of rest. I’ll
shift back to my true form before dawn and we’ll return to River’s Divide and
warn the others about the nature of Trensler’s power.”
Shadowdancer was already moving into a more
comfortable position. Sorsha let him arrange her the way he liked. For once she
didn’t have any witty retort. She was just thankful he hadn’t picked up on her
confusing thoughts. Her uncertainty bordered on cowardice, and cowardice wasn’t
something she would accept. She should just turn a little more until she was
straddling him, offer him what his body seemed eager for, and get over her
stupid momentary fear. And what if come the morning he was no longer
interested?

Her thoughts continued to chase each other in circles
until her eyes grew heavy. Maybe sleep was the best option. She snuggled closer
to his body, molding to his chest. His arms came around her, tightening for a
few moments. His touch fed some deep emotional craving and that scared her. She
only hoped that come the dawn this whole mess might look better.

The first feeble rays of dawn
already colored the sky by the time Sorsha roused. Inside the cave it was still
too dark to make out much other than the shape of the cave mouth and a few
outcroppings of stone near it. But a warmth—only slightly cooler than the
embers of the campfire still glowing within its ring of stones—blazing along
her back and sides told her she wasn’t alone. Sweat dampened her hair and
trickled down her body. A heavy weight across her waist—an arm, she discovered
with a bit of exploring—held her snug while a second weight was slung
unceremoniously over her lower body. A leg? Another bit of wiggling confirmed
it. Yes, definitely a thigh. Presently it was entwined intimately alongside her
own, totally and completely destroying even the pretence of propriety. She
grinned. Not that she’d ever bothered much with respectability—she’d always
left that to Lamarra. She glanced out the cave’s mouth then back over her
shoulder at what must be Shadowdancer snuggled along her back.

It was early, and her body still
craved sleep, but she knew they
should
get moving. However, as she lay
next to him, unmoving, simply basking in the heat and his pleasant male scent
for a few moments more, a drowsy thought surfaced. It was nice to wake up in
Shadowdancer’s arms—a touch too warm—but still nice. Wouldn’t it be lovely to
wake up to his warmth during the cold winter months? Yawning, she let that
thought sink in.

For a fellow who spent a rather
lot of his time as a horse, he still made a very nice looking human as well.
And while he could be a touch domineering, he had better manners than many of
her father’s soldiers. Her grin turned into another yawn.

It wasn’t until she was finished
yawning a second time that she realized she heard a familiar rhythm drawing
near.

Horses. At least two.

“Shadowdancer, there’s someone
coming.”

The warm arm around her waist
tightened. He grunted something unintelligible.

“Shadowdancer. Wake up, now.”

She elbowed him in the ribs. With
a grunt, which transformed into a hiss, he awoke fully and raised his head to
sniff at the air.
“This form is so nose dead it will be a miracle if I don’t
get eaten by some predator.”

A moment later she felt his power
expanding around them, seeking who or what was approaching them. He relaxed
after several heartbeats and nuzzled her hair, pushing it away from the back of
her neck. Warm lips caressed the skin there.

Too shocked to respond, she
remained motionless and stupidly let him lip the back of her neck.

“What…what are you doing? Stop
it. Who’s coming?”

“Summer Flame and my sister.”
He sighed.
“Seems they grew
concerned when they realized we didn’t return last night. They’ll be here
momentarily.”

“Now?” Sorsha tried to sit up but
Shadowdancer held her pinned down. His hands caressed her underneath the
blanket.

“Shadowdancer, what’s gotten into
you? We need to leave. We’ve already slept too long. It’s dawn. If we don’t get
moving, I’ll be noticed trying to sneak back into the residence.” And the other
two Santhyrians were bound to notice Shadowdancer’s new form and familiarity,
and come to the wrong conclusions.

“We’ll be back in plenty of time.
Besides, Winter’s Frost and Summer Flame are already here.”

On the heels of his words, a
flame bright stallion ducked under the low ridge of stone at the cave’s
entrance. The stallion froze when his eyes locked on the two human shapes
burrowed under the blankets.

Sorsha’s cheeks burned at the
other stallion’s stunned body language. His ears flicked forward and he lowered
his head, nostrils flared.

“It’s not what it looks like.”
Sorsha blushed at the way she’d rushed the words together.

“I think it’s exactly what it
looks like.”

“Nearly so,”
Shadowdancer confirmed.

Sorsha punched him in the arm.
“No it’s not. We were attacked by Lord Master Trensler. Shadowdancer leapt into
the river to escape. He saved me.”

“And for his bravery you rewarded
him with a little bed sport?”

“No, of course not.”

“Hmmm. Remind me to save you
sometime.”

“Apologize to Sorsha!”
Shadowdancer lunged up so
quickly, Sorsha was thrown back against the floor. By the time she was looking
at Shadowdancer again, he was engulfed in fiery light. When it faded,
Shadowdancer was once again in his natural form. The stallion bellowed a
challenge as he came down on four hooves. Summer Flame nickered in humor and
leapt back, out of the cave. His laughter reached Sorsha’s mind.

Shadowdancer pursued his target
while Sorsha looked on in confusion. After a moment she heard Winter’s Frost
scold both males. Sorsha wanted to thank the mare for intervening.

Trensler was out in the forest
somewhere and they didn’t know where. Nor did they know when he’d strike next.
She didn’t even know what he wanted. Whatever it was couldn’t be good.

Tucking the blanket around herself
like a cloak, Sorsha hastily pulled on her now dry leathers. They were stiff
and smelled odd, but she didn’t care. She shoved her feet in her still damp
boots. The lining was almost wet, but chaffing was the least of her worries.

“Shadowdancer.” She called as she
ran. “Shadowdancer, talk to me.”

Running from the cave, she
emerged to find her Santhyrian and Summer Flame facing each other. Her
Santhyrian? She paused when she realized what she’d just thought. But yes, it
still felt right. Shadowdancer glowered at the flame bright stud with a baneful
look.

Heads high, tails arched, the two
stood frozen, each awaiting the other’s slightest move to begin the battle.

“Don’t you dare,” Sorsha yelled
as she walked closer, “either of you.”

With a snort and a shake of his
head, Shadowdancer relaxed and arched his neck in her direction. She tossed an
arm across his back as she pressed her face against him. “Easy. Don’t fight.
There’s no time. We have to worry about Trensler and figure out where he’ll
attack next.”

“No, we won’t. We know where he
will be.”

Sorsha frowned. Not
understanding.

“He’ll be where the strongest Larnkins
reside. For now, that would be wherever your sister and her bondmate are.
Sorntar was host to the strongest Larnkin I’d ever sensed, until I met your
sister. Ashayna is equal or greater in power than the Crown Prince.”

“You think Trensler is going
after them next.”

“I don’t know who or what
Trensler serves, but if he’s harvesting magic for his master, it’s only a
matter of time before he goes after the feast Ashayna and Sorntar represent.
And if my Larnkin couldn’t stop Trensler from feeding on me, I doubt Sorntar or
Ashayna’s Larnkins will fare any better.”

“Then what can we do?”

“Meet up with your sister in
River’s Divide, and then contact Sorntar’s parents. We’ll do as Queen and
Council commands.”

Sorsha paced back and forth in front of her sister’s fireplace.

“Would you stop?” Lamarra gestured to the floor at
Sorsha’s feet. “Abusing the poor floor boards won’t help Ashayna.”

Biting back a retort so hard her jaw creaked, Sorsha
spun to face Lamarra where she leaned against the corner bedpost, her hands
folded demurely in front of her.

If she didn’t know Lamarra so well, Sorsha would have envied
her sister’s calm demeanor. But the way Lamarra cast her gaze back to the door
time and again told Sorsha her sister was just as worried.

Shadowdancer and the other Santhyrians had gotten back
to River’s Divide to find Lamarra waiting at the gate for them. Her news was
worrisome. Lord-Master Trensler was already within River’s Divide. Worse, he
was in a private meeting with General Stonemantle, Ashayna, Sorntar, and a
number of the General’s closest advisors. There’d been no way to get a warning
to Ashayna and Sorntar about Trensler’s power, and they couldn’t reach either
Ashayna or Sorntar using any of the mental pathways.

Summer Flame had been ready to knock down the
Stonemantle Residence’s main gate, gallop through the corridors until he
reached the War Room, and crush Trensler under his hooves. It was Lamarra who
suggested the Santhyrians take a less drastic way, by wandering the gardens,
grazing until they just happen to find an irresistible patch of grass under the
War Room’s window.

Shadowdancer, Winter’s Frost, and Summer Flame had all
agreed with Lamarra’s plan. So Sorsha found herself in Lamarra’s room, waiting
rather unhappily for the next sketchy report.

Thanks to the Santhyrians’ exceptional hearing, she
already knew how Sorntar and the General had fielded Lord-Master Trensler’s
questions. Periodically, Shadowdancer would touch Sorsha’s mind and inform her
how the meeting progressed. Mostly, it sounded like boring political doings.
She didn’t give a gold piece about that useless drivel. She wanted to know how
Ashayna and Sorntar fared. But the Santhyrians couldn’t speculate, beyond the
fact Sorntar wouldn’t be so calm if he thought his bondmate was in danger.

For that matter, Ashayna wasn’t subtle if those she
loved were in danger either. And Sorsha was willing to bet her sister loved her
Phoenix bondmate even if Ashayna hadn’t realized it herself yet. Ashayna was
stubborn beyond belief.

“A trait that seems to flow through all those with
Stonemantle blood, little mane ornament.”

When Shadowdancer’s mind merged with hers, she
immediately released the breath she’d been holding. Only then realizing just
how scared she’d been.

“Shadowdancer, what news?”

“Sorntar and Ashayna are safe. The meeting is over and
they’re on their way to see you.”

“Thank the Light. What else?”

“Sorntar is going to contact his mother. He’ll get
called back to Grey Spires; the Queen can’t risk her son remaining here. Not
after what we’ve discovered. Sorntar and Ashayna are concerned for you and
Lamarra.”

“I’m concerned for me too.”
Sorsha joked with a humor she didn’t feel.
“And
Lamarra….and every other soul in River’s Divide. I don’t know what Trensler is,
but I know evil when I feel it.”

“I won’t leave you.”

Sorsha’s heart did a funny little skip at
Shadowdancer’s words. Did he mean more by them than protecting his new friends?

She didn’t know, and wasn’t given the chance to find
out, even if her new uncertainty hadn’t stopped her from asking. There was a
soft knock on the door and then it was opening. Lamarra rushed forward and
embraced Ashayna before Sorsha had even fully registered two others now stood
in the room with them.

Ashayna returned Lamarra’s hug a bit belatedly, but
with genuine love. When Lamarra finally released her, Ashayna walked over to
Sorsha. They hugged fiercely, and then her oldest sister returned to Prince
Sorntar’s side. Ashayna crossed her arms and inclined her head in Sorntar’s
direction.

The Phoenix tilted his head to the side, the feathers
of his crest raising a hand span before they flattened again. His tight-lipped
expression showed his unhappiness.

“I don’t know what Trensler is.” He said at last,
meeting Sorsha’s eyes. “But he’s dangerous. Shadowdancer explained what
happened to you on our way here.”

Sorntar winced and massaged his temples, fingers
disappearing up into his indigo crest. The Phoenix’s dark bronze skin seemed
stretched tight over his cheek bones and his eyes looked sunken. Overall,
Sorntar’s normal breathtaking handsomeness was marred by what Sorsha would call
extreme weariness.

Sorntar sighed and dropped his hands. They rubbed
along his leather kilt in a half-conscious manner, as if trying to rub away
whatever residue Trensler had left behind. Sorsha thought she knew how Sorntar
felt. Unclean. Tainted. And somehow less.

“He feeds on power,” Sorntar said. He paused, grabbed
a chair and turned it so he could sit on it backwards. He shifted his wings and
fanned his tail out as he settled, resting his folded arms upon the back of the
chair. “I’m familiar with some of the creatures of darkness that feed on magic,
but I don’t know them all. More concerning is my Larnkin’s new dormancy. He had
been waking, my powers growing. Now there is very little sense of awareness
from him. Whatever Trensler did weakened my Larnkin enough that he returned to
sleep. And whatever can do that to something as powerful as a Larnkin is best
left to the Elders.”

“Shadowdancer and I experienced something similar as
you described before Trensler tried to kill us.” Sorsha swallowed with
difficulty, her mouth suddenly dry as three day old bread. “We couldn’t even
talk to each other using mindspeech.”

“I had trouble reaching Ashayna’s mind,” Sorntar
mused. “But she seemed completely unaffected by Trensler.”

Ashayna snorted. “Unaffected wouldn’t be the word I’d
have used, but yes, Sorntar’s right. Whatever Trensler was doing didn’t affect
me to the extent it did the rest of you. Something about him has always set my
teeth on edge, but I’ve never felt drained. But then again, maybe it’s because
my Larnkin is a bit of an oddity all on its own.”

Sorntar mumbled something under his breath and looked
like he was planning on launching into an old conversation. Ashayna waved him
to silence. “We need to deal with Trensler. I’m not leaving here without Sorsha
and Lamarra. They both have magic and the Acolytes already know that. It’s too
dangerous to leave them behind when we go.”

“Don’t worry. We won’t leave them behind unprotected.”
Sorntar’s voice softened, and he focused on his bondmate as if she was the only
one in the room. “Come here.”

Sorsha suddenly felt like she was intruding on
something private.

Ashayna paused for a long awkward moment, but she went
to Sorntar. He took her hands in his and pressed a kiss into each palm. When
Ashayna closed her eyes and released a loud sigh, magic flooded out across the
room, tingling against Sorsha’s exposed skin. A soft smile touched Sorntar’s
lips, and the love he had for his bondmate was obvious to everyone in the room
except the one he directed it at.

Once again Sorsha was envious of her older sister.
Ashayna, who hated magic and wanted nothing but to serve as a scout in the
army, had been given a wondrous gift and an opportunity to do something great.
Yet by her sour look, she despised her magic and barely tolerated her
bondmate. 
Ash, you’re an idiot. If I’d been given such power and something
as special as a soulmate, I wouldn’t be regretting it or cursing my fate,
Sorsha thought to herself. She glanced out the window and imagined what her
life would be like if Shadowdancer was host to her Larnkin’s other half, her
bondmate.

No, if Shadowdancer looked at her with such love in
his eyes, Sorsha wouldn’t deny that gift. But he didn’t, and he probably never
would.

Sorntar took a couple deep breaths then looked up,
studying first Lamarra before letting his eyes settle on Sorsha. “After hearing
our news, my mother wants us to return.”

“You were able to talk to her?”

“Yes. A Phoenix is capable of long range mindspeech
the same as a Santhyrian. Though, among my people, there needs to be some
familiarity—family or the special bond of friendship. My mother was very clear
with her instructions. Sorsha, you and Lamarra will be guarded by the three
Santhyrians and will join your friends Beatrice, Roan, and Old Mother to await
the arrival of the Elders. They’ll be coming by Gate and will be here shortly.
Once here, the Elders will observe Trensler and his Acolytes to see if they can
find out what he calls master. If they can deal with this situation without
damaging the peace treaty, they will. If not...you and Lamarra will already be
with Old Mother and her grandchildren.”

Sorntar turned his attention to Lamarra. “To prevent
suspicions, Ash and I will return to Grey Spires as planned. If the elders
report Trensler is more than they can handle alone, the Santhyrians will spirit
you both off to the safety of the Herd.”

Sorsha thought how she’d always felt safe with Old
Mother and her two grandchildren. Before Trensler had attacked her, the forest
had seemed like a second home. Now it didn’t. Trensler wielded too much power,
and nowhere seemed safe. She’d just have to settle for temporarily safe, she
supposed.

“If something does happen and Lamarra and I are forced
to leave, I want Old Mother, Beatrice, and Roan to come with us immediately. I
don’t trust the Acolytes. If they can find Shadowdancer and me in the forest,
they can find Old Mother.”

Sorntar nodded. “My mother is in agreement.”

“Excellent.”

“It’s settled then,” Sorntar said, sounding unhappy at
having to tuck his tail and run. She understood his pride. She didn’t like the
fact Trensler could drive her out of her home either. But they couldn’t
assassinate Trensler and every other Acolyte without starting a war.